Joanna Poppink, day after Thanksgiving in Hotel Bel Air gardens. Photo by Delilah Hirshland After the joy, stress, sorrow and clean up is passed you may feel motivated to move ahead toward the upcoming holidays with a pang. Thanksgiving comes and goes so quickly. What was all that activity and emotion about? Your Thanksgiving may […]

Last week, John Oliver did a fabulous look-back reflection on sexual harassment — through the lens (and voice) of Anita Hill. This impactful interview will get you thinking … at least it should. Our question here at the #RealDeal is this … After watching this piece, do you think we are on the trajectory […]

#RealDeal is bringing back this post from 6/9/12 in the interest of media literacy. In last week’s post “Why Voting Matters for Girls…”, I discussed the importance of girls understanding the power of their voice in politics and mentioned that I would compile a list of resources that offer a selection of liberal (“left” or […]

In celebration of the 10th year of this empowerment blog site, #RealDeal Editor, Robyn Hussa Farrell, shares this “gallery of role models” and fierce women leaders. Each of the below paintings were created while reflecting on the abundance of women role models in my life. In honor and celebration of each of them, I wanted […]

Patricia Leavy, Ph.D. is an independent sociologist and best-selling author. She has published twenty-four books, earning critical and commercial success in both nonfiction and fiction, a rare feat by any author. Her work has been translated into numerous languages. She is also the creator and editor for seven book series with Oxford University Press and […]

I’ve just spent the better part of an hour unsuccessfully digging through reading material trying to identify where I read (within the last week!) that “biography is not identity.” I had to wait to carve out time to blog about this subject and, in the interim, forgot where I found these four words which leapt […]

Do you ever feel as if things are going swimmingly in your life—even as you’re waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop? If you frequently feel this paradoxical tug of simultaneous joy and fear, let me explain this dynamic and what you can do about it, the goal being that you lose the fear […]

I was looking through notes I took at a workshop I attended last year on “Calming An Overactive Brain,” and found some ideas which speak directly to why it’s difficult for dysregulated eaters to not reach for food when they’re in internal distress. My hope is that by understanding what goes on in your brain […]

When I say “true grit,” I’m not referring to the movie of the same name. I’m talking about a quality that is essential to success which many dysregulated eaters need to cultivate. Although I haven’t read the book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, I did read about it in an […]

My seventh book is out! Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating—Psychological Strategies for Doctors and Health Care Providers is co-authored by Paige O’Mahoney, M.D., CHWC. Don’t be fooled by the title and think that the book is only for health professionals. It has two audiences: healthcare practitioners and patients who want their providers to understand and truly […]